Did you know you can optimize your images for SEO? They come up in searches so often that it’s time to start paying attention to not only what the image is, but how you name it, use it, and a few other details you might not even know you should be checking!
Before You Even Put the Image Online...
So you have an image, you've added it to your website. Like this one:
But if you're at this point, you've already missed several opportunities to optimize your image. Before you put an image on your website several things need to happen...
1. Image dimensions + file size
Is your image sized exactly how you need it - or did you take a huge image and let your website shrink it to fit properly?
It's always best to take your image and size it accurately before adding it to your website. Why? Because the larger an image, the larger the file size. The larger the file size, the slower your website. The speed of your website is very important to SEO - you want to take every opportunity to make it faster.
2. Image name
What did you name your image when you saved it? Was it dtp-image4.jpg - or something vague? It might not matter to you - or you might have a system that makes sense to you, but you're losing an opportunity for SEO.
Name your image with what's in the image - or even better - use a keyword. Instead of dtp-image4.jpg, a better name would be phoenix-dentist.jpg. See how keywords were used there?
When Putting The Image Online, Don't Miss This...
Once you've put your image in your website, there's one more step.
3. Add an Image Alt
Accurately filling out your alt text provides a way to help users and search engines understand your content.
It's best to briefly describe your image in the alt text, and if you can get keywords in there, even better!
Want more advanced image optimization tactics? Check out:
